


Sea of Diamonds

by sctvrns



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aquarium AU, Fluff, Keith works at the touch tanks and gift shop, M/M, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro is a dolphin trainer, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), They hold hands an ungodly amount of times I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 09:24:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15946466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sctvrns/pseuds/sctvrns
Summary: Keith has been an employee at the Altea Aquarium ever since Allura took him under her wing a few years ago. When a new dolphin trainer appears, Keith feels himself falling and he's not sure if he ever wants to stop. Alternatively, Keith and Shiro hold hands a million times the fic.





	Sea of Diamonds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amaanogawa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaanogawa/gifts).



> This is my piece for the Sheith Big Bang 2018. I had the joy of working with @ketchupp04__. You can check out their art [here.](https://twitter.com/ketchupp04__/status/1038923095593996288) Please enjoy! This is for Em (@amaanogawa) who inspired me to write this entire piece.

 

Keith is locking up the storage room for the night when he encounters Allura. She’s leaning next to the doorway with her hands hidden behind her back and a mischievous grin drawn upon her lips.

“Keith, do you have a moment?” She asks softly.

He glances back down at the keys lodged in the door before glancing back up, replying reluctantly, “What’s up?”

“So…Coran had extra tickets to the dolphin show over in the west wing. He told me to give them away, so I thought you might like one.”

“Oh,” he hadn’t expected that she thought of him when it came to these kinds of things. Touched, was one way he might call how he felt.

Keith had been employed at the Altea Aquarium for a few years now. Allura had reached out to him one night after he got booted from the Galaxy Garrison and he’s been working here ever since. It was previously owned by her father Alfor, now left in the hands of her and her uncle Coran. He mostly worked in the gift shop, organized the storage closets, or watched over the touch tanks in the exhibits. He did the occasional tour or two for donors, but that was only when Allura wasn’t available.

Keith hadn’t seen the dolphin show yet and the employee discount wasn’t large enough for him to warrant a visit to watch the show on his own. On top of that, Lance was one of the trainers in the show and Keith wanted nothing to do with him. But Allura was too kind to turn down. He sighs gently, “Sure.”

“Great!” She beams and places a ticket in his palm, “I’ve heard the show has really improved since we’ve gotten a new trainer.”

“Cool, thanks Allura. I’ll be sure to check it out,” He pockets the ticket and pulls the storage key from the lock.

“Good and you’re welcome Keith. I’ll see you around sometime soon, okay?”

“Yeah, see ya.”

***

 

The next day, Keith settles down in the back row towards the center at the 2:20 show. A large, open tank is in the center of the auditorium illuminated by fluorescent lights. He’s surrounded by rowdy children cradling different aquatic animals he recognizes from the gift shop. Their tired teachers and chaperones spread amongst them. Keith smiles awkwardly at the chaperone situated next to him and recalls his aquarium field trip.

 

Keith was around ten years old when his teacher announced a field trip to their local aquarium. He tried to beg his uncle Kolivan to chaperone so he could have someone to hang out with during the trip since he didn’t mesh well with his peers. To his dismay, Kolivan had work that day and money was tight so he had no one to accompany him nor a souvenir to remember the trip by. He remembers watching the kids enviously as they strode home with their plushies, their cheeks red and happy. But, he loved the exhibits and the animals, that much he could remember. Even though he didn’t have someone to hang out with during the day, he enjoyed busing himself with reading the signs and playing with the interactive sections of the exhibits. And when he came home, he had Kolivan he could talk to no matter how tired he was after work, he took the time to listen to him.

The dimming of the stage lights pulled him out of his thoughts and a voice resounded through the speakers, “Welcome to the 2:20 showing of Dolphin Tales. The show will begin momentarily. Please remember that flash photography is not permitted during the duration of this showing and to silence or turn off your cellular devices. Thank you.”

Keith takes out his flip phone and turns it off, no one calls him but Kolivan and Allura, but he doesn’t want to risk it. The lights turn off before two spotlights appear on opposite sides of the raised stage behind the tank. Two figures materialize under the lights in black, skin tight suits with the pale pink Altea Aquarium logo plastered across their bosoms. From where he’s situated Keith can’t quite make out their faces, but the one on the left is tall, broad, and muscular in comparison to the scrawny, but toned man on the right. They wave to the crowd before delving into the water.

The two trainers move gracefully. The water parts as the dolphins shred through it. One of the trainers, the more slim one, settles on a dolphin’s back and takes off across the tank. After they make a round around the tank, the dolphin stops at the edge of the stage for the trainer to get off. The other trainer pats the slim trainer on the back and feeds the waiting dolphin. The larger trainer dives into the water and resurfaces on the melon of a dolphin. He stretches out his hands and beams at the crowd as he travels across the water. Light reflects off of his right arm which seems to be made out of metal, Keith squints, but he’s too far to make it out fully. He can see the joy radiating from the man’s body in every move he makes. And it makes Keith’s heart beat a pace faster.

 

The two trainers swim out of sight and arrive back on the stage. Now, there are buckets where they once stood. Keith hadn’t even noticed the people that set up the buckets of fish on stage. They reach into the buckets and hand fish to each of the dolphins, four in total Keith notes, two for each trainer. The dolphins eat the fish excitedly before turning onto their backs and swimming outward towards the crowd; clapping their fins together as they do so.

 

He watches the smaller man plunge back into the water and sees him resurface splayed across the top of the dolphin with his hands clasped around its dorsal fin. The dolphin shreds through the water causing the water to splash upwards obscuring the audience’s vision. Little rainbows appear from the light refracting off of the shimmering water and he can hear the crowd awing in unison. The trainer reappears with his feet squished together balancing on the dolphin’s head. The other trainer joins him, then the two of them tread through the water until the dolphin tilts its snout up and the man flies into the air and he does a little flip before landing back in the water. The crowd goes wild. The kid next to him tugs on his shirt, “Did you see that mister? Wasn’t it incredible?”

 

“It sure was.” He smiles before turning his attention back to the show. The smaller man is back on the dolphin’s head and this time the dolphin swims in circles before throwing him back in the air. This time the other man joins him on another dolphin and they’re thrown into the air simultaneously twirling while water erupts from the background. Keith is awed. He could only imagine how much practice and core training it took to balance on the dolphins while remaining stickboard straight then being thrown into the air at a moments notice.

 

The show attempts to weave plot into it, but it just seems really flat and only made to appeal to kids who didn’t know any better about storytelling. Keith can’t really find himself to care about it either because he’s far more interested in the stunts that the two trainers are doing.

 

The stage lights go dim after twenty minutes and the trainers appear back on stage. A pair of spotlights appear on them and they wave to the crowd before motioning to the dolphins who jump into the air one after one as the crowd cheers. Keith claps, then lingers for a bit to watch them prepare for the next show before he heads towards the exit after the crowd thins out.

 

Keith walks out of the auditorium and decides to go backstage. He knows he shouldn’t, but he really wants to try talking to the trainer he couldn’t keep his eyes off of. He tries to use his work keys to open the door, but he’s not surprised when the door doesn’t budge. It’s mostly for storage closets only and doors in the east wing. He thinks about possibly picking the lock, but he’s reminded of what a terrible idea that is; especially at his workplace.

 

“ _Keith_.” He hears from behind.

 

He sighs. The one person he didn’t want to run into.

 

_Lance._

 

“What?”

 

“What do you mean what? You’re the one trying to break into an unauthorized area.”

 

“Thanks for stating the obvious.”

 

Lance huffs, “What do you want back here anyway?”

 

“Uh…” He glances back at the door, “To look at the tank from behind?” _Great one Kogane_.

 

“You’re a terrible liar, Mullet.”

 

“Look, I just want to talk to the trainer you worked alongside with, okay? And it would be great if you just stayed out of my way.”

 

Lance laughs, “No way. I’m not letting you anywhere near him.”

 

“You don’t own him.”

 

“Up bup bup— Neither do you,” Lance jabs his finger into Keith’s chest, “And I would prefer if you two stayed _very far away_ from each other.”

 

“Lance?” He hears, “Is there somebody there?”

 

“N-no one Shiro!” Lance yells. He glares back at Keith and whispers, “If you don’t beat it soon you’re gonna wish—”

 

“Oh, there is. You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” The man hovers behind Lance. He’s tall, Keith notices, broad-shouldered, his waist slim for someone of his build, and muscled all over. Keith gulps and places his eyes back to the ground. A metal hand materializes in his vision. The palm is extended out to him and he shakes it firmly before dragging his eyes back to the man, “Hi, I’m Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro. You work here too right?” He motions to the logo on Keith’s chest.

 

“Y-yeah. I’m Keith, Keith Kogane. Nice to meet you,” He lets go of Shiro’s hand and runs his hand through his hair. It really hits him how attractive Shiro is, especially his grey eyes, clouded and dark, like an unrefined diamond, “So, uh, you’re the new trainer I’ve heard about. You’re really good.”

 

Shiro blushes a little at that, “Not at all, but thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the show.”

 

“Shiro here is not only a good trainer, he’s also a good pilot. Unlike a _certain_ dropout I know.” He casts Keith a glance, hoping his venom will catch.

 

“Lance,” Shiro says firmly, “That’s not kind of you. And you should never downplay someone else in order to lift someone else up.”

 

Keith swears he would give this man a medal, right here, right now.

 

“Sorry.” Lance mutters.

 

“Sorry about that Keith.”

 

“It’s fine,” Keith shrugs, “It’s not the first time I’ve heard that.”

 

Shiro’s eyes flicker with something akin to disapproval, but Keith’s sure he’s imagined it.

 

“Shiro,” Lance says, “We’ve got to go.”

 

“Right…” He turns to Keith, “Again, I’m sorry about him,” Lance opens his mouth to protest, but shuts it when Shiro glances coldly at him, “Hopefully I’ll see you around, Keith.”

 

“You too.” He raises his hand in farewell as he watches Lance drag Shiro away.

 

***

 

Keith is sitting at his booth when his phone alarm goes off. It startles some of the kids playing in the touch tank, which he waves them off awkwardly while he lowers his ringer. But, he’s happy, it’s break time. He enjoys his job, but he needs multiple breaks from people throughout the day in order to function properly. If one person were to be the embodiment of the word introvert, it would be Keith. Because of this and his predisposition for asocial tendencies; he was largely misunderstood by most people he came into contact with. It ruined a lot of friendships and potential relationships, but Keith had come to terms with it a long time ago. Besides, he has Allura, Hunk, Kolivan, and Pidge that he could confide in. And that is enough for him.

 

He opens the door to the break room to see a large, vaguely familiar figure fumbling about in the fridge.

 

“Oh, hey. Shiro right?” Keith says about as nonchalantly as he can, which sadly isn’t very much.

 

The tall man sticks his head up from the fridge; his shock of white hair peering over the door, “I’m glad you remembered. Keith, right?” He jests back.

 

Keith crosses his arms, “I was just making sure. It’d be embarrassing if I messed up.”

 

“Everyone does. It would’ve been fine. A little embarrassment never hurt anyone,” He pulls out a half-gallon of milk and pours it into one of the mugs from the cupboard. **#1 DAD,** it reads in bold black lettering.

 

“Dad mug?” Keith quirks a brow.

 

Shiro stares back down at the cup, “Oh this?” He laughs, “My friends back at the Garrison bought this for me. I was the ‘dad friend’ of the group even though I’m not very dad-like.”

 

Keith’s eyes widen at that, “You went to the Garrison?”

 

Shiro places the milk and mug on the counter before leaning back on it, “...Yeah,” He stares at his right arm, “They probably erased all traces of me going there though. No need for a broken star pilot right?” He laughs, but it’s hollow.

 

“I’m sorry,” Keith whispers. _You’re not broken_ , he wants to say, but the words are balled up in his throat.

 

Shiro shakes his head knowingly, “Don’t be. I’m sorry for opening that can of worms up on you,” He gives Keith a somber smile before grabbing a package of oreos, “Do you want some?”

 

“I’m not really an oreo type of guy. I hate the creme.”

 

Shiro looks incredulous, “T-that’s the best part.”

 

“No way! The wafer is the best part. Especially when you dip it in milk and it becomes a little soggy.”

 

Shiro opens his mouth to object, but the door swings open before he can retort.

 

“Keith,” Allura says. Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail. She’s wearing a white oxford with a bright pink pencil skirt, “just the person I was looking for,” She hands him a slip of paper.

 

He glances down at it and groans inwardly. It’s a satisfaction survey for the dolphin show.

 

“I know. I know. Don’t give me that pout. I wish we didn’t have to do this, but Coran wanted the employees’ input on the show. If I had told you beforehand you might’ve thought twice about it, wouldn’t you?”

 

Keith doesn’t deny her question. He also thinks he still would have gone, but he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it as much as he did if he had to analyze it for a survey. Still, he begrudgingly accepts the pen that she extends out to him with a smile.

 

She glances up from him while he quickly fills out the form, “Hi Shiro! How are you doing today?”

 

“I’m doing well, how about you?”

 

“I’m doing alright. Just handing out these surveys for Coran.”

 

“How is Coran?”

 

“Oh! He’s doing...okay? He’s going through a bit of a midlife crisis right now—”

 

Keith thinks belatedly that they would look good together. They were both attractive and tall. And besides, Shiro probably likes people like Allura. Someone who has all their shit together, unlike himself.

 

“... He was thinking about buying a lion.”

 

“That sounds rather… concerning.”

 

He shakes his head. _Why am I even thinking about this?_ Keith sighs and taps Allura lightly on the shoulder to give her the survey back. She gives him another smile and pats him on the shoulder before leaving.

 

“Oh Keith,” Shiro smiles, “Here.” Keith looks down at the plate Shiro extended and his mouth gapes back at him. Shiro scraped all the creme off the cookies for him, “If you grab a cup I can give you some of my milk too.”

 

“T-thanks Shiro. And it’s fine, really.”

 

“No problem,” He settles down on one of the couches, “About earlier...with Lance. He said you were a pilot too.”

 

“Oh, yeah,” He takes a cookie to his mouth, “I was top of the fighter class, but I got kicked out for discipline issues.”

 

Shiro looks him over with an amused look, “Oh really?”

 

“Yeah. Among other things.”

 

“I was quite the rebel in my day,” He says before he gulps down the rest of his milk.

 

“You?” Keith laughs.

 

“Yeah. I was a good pilot, but Iverson had trouble reigning me in.”

 

“You gave Iverson a hard time?” He laughs, “I wish I could’ve see—” The ring of Keith’s cell phone broke through the air, “Oh sorry. That means my break is over. We can talk more about this later if you’d like.”

 

“I’d like that.” He smiles.

 

Keith smiles back and dumps the paper plate in the trash can before leaving.

 

It’s only then that Keith realizes…

 

He didn’t grab his lunch.

  


***

 

Keith locks up for the night with his helmet tucked under his arm. He sees Hunk tidying up the counter at Sal’s Seafood before pulling down the shutters and joining him on his way out. Hunk walks him out to his motorcycle and waves him off before he walks across the lot to his minivan. Keith kicks off the stand, straddles the seat, and straps his helmet on. He takes off onto the side road. He decides to take the quieter and longer route home tonight. It gives him more time to admire the stars as he drives by. Keith thinks of what could have been, the planets he could have explored, the lifeforms he could have met. But, something tells him it’s okay now. His dream isn’t lost. He’s got his whole life ahead of him, and who knows, maybe someday he’ll fly again.

 

He ends up at his shack perched on a large, secluded, grassy hill. He can oversee the city from here. The shimmering city lights that outshine the stars, the bustling cars that leave streaks of reds and yellows in their wake, the massive skyscrapers reaching out to the heavens. It feels like his little slice of paradise, where he can watch from afar and take in the marvel of it all.

 

On clear nights, he sets up his telescope and settles on his porch looking at the night sky. It was something he used to do with his dad before he passed and the shack was transferred to him when he was of age to inherit it. The shack has been renovated since then by Keith. Now outfitted with a beige fence, an attic, a kitchen, and a small garage for his bike. He parks his motorcycle in the garage, then enters the shack. He kicks off his shoes and throws his jacket on the coat rack. He’s too tired to shower; he’ll do it in the morning, he thinks belatedly as he flops onto his bed. He shucks off his pants then his work tee before curling under the covers.

 

Sleep comes easily that night.

 

***

 

The next day, Keith ends up seeing Shiro again in the break room. This time he’s eating a protein bar instead of oreos.

“Hey Keith, can I take you up on that offer about talking more?” Shiro says, “I can treat you to something during lunch break. If you want.”

 

“Oh, uh, sure.”

 

“Great! I’ll see you later then?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Later can’t come fast enough. Keith doesn’t think he’s been this eager to talk to someone in a while. They shared similar interests, but then again the Garrison was a sore spot for both of them. He tries to think of other things they could possibly talk about over lunch, but he comes up short on ideas. He decides not to worry about it though, Shiro doesn’t seem like the type to let a conversation die out easily, or so he hopes.

 

Shiro ends up picking Keith up from his booth near the touch tanks, which is on the opposite side of the Aquarium from where Shiro works. Keith wants to ask him how he knew where to find him, but he decides he probably found out from his friends or Lance. They walk out of the aquarium and Keith trails Shiro out to his car. It’s a large black Hummer, and somehow Keith can’t say he’s surprised. It’s a fitting car in a way, large and intimidating. Kind of militant and sleek. But, he also sort of imagined Shiro having a minivan. He seems like the type to have a family-oriented kind of car. The sound of Shiro opening his door stirs him from his thoughts, “Thanks,” he murmurs as he slides in on the passenger side and buckles his seat belt.

 

Shiro’s arm reaches between them, “Do you have any preferences for the radio?”

 

“I’ll listen to about anything,” Keith shrugs.

 

“Hmm,” Shiro turns the dial, “Guns N’ Roses it is then.”

 

“I didn’t take you for a hard rock, heavy metal type of guy.”

 

“It’s nice every once and a while I guess. Especially for working out.”

 

Shiro taps on the steering wheel to the beat of the songs and sings a little. _He has a really nice voice_ , Keith notes. He also realizes he drives solely with his left hand, while the other rests in his lap. He looks comfortable but focused behind the wheel. Keith feels safe.

 

They arrive in front of a small café and Shiro’s already at Keith’s door before his seat belt is unbuckled. _The Blue Chair_ , the storefront reads. Keith had never come out to this place before.

 

Shiro holds the door as they enter and Keith’s nose is instantly filled with so many aromas. There’s fresh bread being sliced, coffee being brewed. The display cases are chock-full of a variety of cakes, muffins, and macarons. But, there’s a long line since it’s lunch hour, and Keith fears they wouldn’t be able to eat before having to head back. Shiro must have read his mind because he rests his hand on Keith’s shoulder, “It’ll be fine. Come on, let’s grab a table.”

 

They end up at a window booth. A cute server with her hair tied up in a messy bun comes by and takes their orders. Shiro orders a salmon bagel and Keith decides to do the same. He also gets a glass of water while Shiro gets a cup of camomile tea. Shiro doesn’t add any milk or sugar to his tea, which Keith finds a little odd. He can’t drink the stuff without at least two packets of sugar.

 

“So… How did you end up deciding to work at the aquarium? The career choice seems vastly different from flying,” Shiro says.

 

“I could say the same for you,” He traces the rim of his cup before he glances back at Shiro, “You don’t seem like the dolphin training type.”

 

“I guess I keep subverting your expectations.” Shiro jests.

 

“In a way, yeah.” Keith laughs then he pauses, “...I’m not really sure myself. I guess I like the vastness of the ocean, there’s so much that we still don’t know about it. It kind of reminds me of space,” He laces his fingers together, “But as for working at Altea, I ended up working there because of Allura. We met after I got kicked from the Garrison. She opened me up more, I guess. I owe her a lot.”

 

“I have to thank her too. She’s a wonderful person isn’t she?”

 

“She really is. I feel bad for her though. She’s always trying her hardest to help everyone. I gave her so much grief when she helped me out. I wonder how she put up with all of that.”

 

“Because you’re worth it, Keith.” Shiro says. And he says it so genuinely that Keith’s heart aches.

 

But some nagging feeling inside of him is clawing its way up and Keith can’t help but ask, “How do you know that Shiro?”

And Shiro replies like it’s the most absolute truth in the world.

 

“I just know.”

 

Simple but sweet and enough for Keith to begin his descent.

 

The waiter comes back with their food and Keith can’t shove the bagel in his mouth fast enough to avoid more awkward conversations like this. He can’t even savor the flavor of it. Shiro is just a nice guy. That’s all. Nothing more.

 

Shiro takes a bite of his bagel and sets in back down, “I’m sorry if I made this awkward Keith.”

 

“No! No… You didn’t. I’m just not used to that kind of stuff.”

 

“...Keith.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, okay?”

 

Shiro nods, but he doesn’t seem convinced.

 

They make more small talk afterwards, so engrossed that they don’t finish their food and have to take it to go when it’s time to head back to Altea. Shiro foots the bill despite Keith’s insistence to pay for them both. He ends up sliding his card onto the tray before Keith can even open his wallet. Shiro opens the door for Keith once again and he really wonders how he’s just nice and considerate like it’s second nature. They strap in and Shiro lowers the volume on the radio this time.

 

“So you were a troublemaker, huh?” Keith prompts.

 

“Yeah,” He laughs, “It’s kind of embarrassing now that I think about it. I had a really short fuse. And I was really controlling of my flight crew. Lieutenant Montgomery helped me out a lot with reigning myself in. She even taught me this little saying, ‘patience yields focus’.”

 

“Patience yields focus.” He repeats.

 

“Yeah. It’s my mantra now. It helps me rebalance myself.”

 

“It’s a nice one,” He says softly.

 

***

 

Keith and Shiro end up hanging out a lot more after their lunch outing. They agree to meet up during break time. Sometimes Shiro brings extra snacks and even bought Keith the oreo wafers without the creme. Keith starts bringing Shiro his favorite snacks too and they end up having long talks over junk food about space, flying, future ambitions.

 

“I wanted to fly out to Kerberos,” Shiro says, “The Garrison was planning a mission to go there, but it fell through when the accident that cost me my arm happened. I sometimes wonder what would have happened— where would I be now if I didn’t show up that day of the launch,” He sighs, “It’s regrettable that it occured, but at least Matt and Sam are still alive.”

 

Keith reaches his hand out to cup Shiro’s prosthetic hand, “You’re still alive too Shiro.”

 

Shiro holds his hand gently, Keith can feel him trembling under his touch, “You’re right. It could’ve been much worse.”

 

“But it wasn’t,” He says firmly, “You’re still here and they are too, that’s all that matters. You’re strong for still being here Shiro, for still wanting to be here. You could’ve given up but you didn’t, and you should be proud of that.”

 

“ _Keith_.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

His grey eyes are filled with unshed tears, “Thank you.”

 

***

 

“Hey kid!” Keith huffs from his seat across from the touch tanks, “Read the sign,” He points to one of the white signs plastered on the side of the tanks: PLEASE ONLY USE TWO FINGERS WHEN PETTING THE AQUATIC ANIMALS. Illustrated by two hands, one crossed out with five fingers, and the other with an index and middle finger pressed together and a check on top of it. The kid looks at him with a glare and takes their hand out of the touch tank.

 

He softens his voice, “Look, you don’t have to stop petting the stingrays all together. Just use two fingers to pet them alright?”

 

The kid nods and places their hand back in the tank. Keith sighs and settles back in his chair.

 

“Having a tough time?”

 

“Hunk,” He smiles, “Break time?”

 

“Yeah, I brought you some lunch,” He holds out a bottle of water and some chicken tenders with a side of fries, “Just make sure Allura doesn’t catch you.”

 

“Right, thank you.”

 

“No problem,” He settles next to Keith’s booth, “So I heard about you crushing on Shiro.”

 

“I’m not crushing,” He frowns.

 

Hunk leans in, “Oh really?”

 

Keith sighs and relents, “Who told you?”

 

Hunk claps his hands together and a wide grin captures his lips, “Oh. My. God. You admitted it. You have a big, fat crush on Shiro.”

 

“Ugh. Since you won’t tell me I’ll just take a shot in the dark. It was Lance wasn’t it?”

 

“N-no.”

 

“ _I knew it_. He just can’t keep his mouth shut.”

 

“The day Lance keeps his mouth shut for longer than three seconds is the day the world ends,” Pidge interjects.

 

“Oh hey, Pidge.” Hunk says.

 

“Hey,” Keith waves.

 

“Hi guys. How’s holding down the fort going?”

 

“It’s okay, it’s a slow day,” Keith says.

 

“Yeah, it’s pretty quiet on my side too.” Pidge shrugs and grabs a fry from Keith’s plate.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Yew don’ mnd,” She chews.

 

“I don’t. But what I do mind is you swallowing before you talk.”

 

She laughs and steals another, “You love me.”

 

“I don’t see how those two things are related, Pidge,” Hunk interjects as he takes a fry for himself.

 

“You guys can just have the fries.”

 

“Thanks!” They take the plate away from Keith and fight over the small pool of ketchup left.

 

“So… I heard you guys went on a date,” Pidge says.

 

“It- it wasn’t a date!” Keith pauses, “Wait… or was it? Did he take me on a date? Or am I reading too much into it?”

 

“Well, what did you guys do?”

 

“He took me to the Blue Chair, a little cafe about ten minutes from here. We just had small talk over lunch and he footed the bill.”

 

Hunk and Pidge look at each other with silly grins, “That’s definitely a date Keith.” Pidge says.

 

“He’s totally into you dude.”

 

“But we’ve only talked a few times. There’s no way he’s in to me.” _Or anyone would be_. The little voice inside of his head nags.

“Uh… I don’t know dude,” Hunk takes another bite, “He talks about you a lot.”

 

Keith looks up, “He does?” Maybe he’s a little hopeful. He doesn’t want to admit it, but from what he’s seen so far of Shiro seems so nice, and everything Keith hasn’t been allowed to have. Maybe, he should squander this hope, the hope that Shiro could possibly like him. And if he did, what then? Would they date? Maybe they would, but that would end eventually. Everything that is good does. Everything that was good has.

 

“Yeah. He likes you. I can tell that much.” He smiles and pats Keith on the shoulder.

 

Pidge reaches over Hunk’s arm to grab another fry, “Hunk’s better than me at this stuff, so I’d trust him.”

 

“You’re not going to tell me you two are dating?” Keith laughs.

 

Pidge’s fry falls from her mouth, “Uh…” She glances back at Hunk, “Uh, me? With this dude? Ha. Ha. _Very_ funny Keith you’re-”

 

Hunk stuffs a fry in her mouth, “We are, but Pidgey prefers to keep quiet about it.”

 

“Could have fooled me.”

 

“Yeah well, it took me a while to come around. He’s a softie. And I keep it a secret because I don’t want Lance teasing us. He can’t even get a girlfriend, and he’ll third wheel even harder when he founds out we’re together,” She presses her hand to her forehead, “‘Oh no! Hunk got a girlfriend before me? How is that possible? I’m a casanova.’ Or something along those lines. You know how annoying he can be.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Keith huffs as he takes a bite of his chicken tender, “He was practically staring daggers into me for talking to Shiro. It’s not like he owns him or anything.”

 

“Mmm. True,” Hunk says, “He’s probably just like that because Shiro’s his hero.”

 

“Hero?”

 

“Oh Keith, you didn’t know?” Pidge interjects, “Shiro’s like one of the best pilots to come out of the Galaxy Garrison. Matt talks about him all the time. He saved him and my father from an occupied Galra base on a rescue mission, but he ended up crashing after being barraged with guns after he ejected them. The Garrison tried burying all traces of what happened even though it was all their fault. That’s how Shiro lost his arm. Without him I would have lost almost all my family.”

 

“I don’t know what I would do without Matt and Sam either. Shiro is really selfless and amazing isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah he is. It’s kind of crazy when I think about it. He used to be such an asocial hothead, kind of reminded me of you.”

 

“I’m not a _hothead_.”

 

“You can be really impulsive at times,” She sighs, “It’s not bad, but your one-track mind can be sometimes.”

 

“Like when?”

 

“Remember when there was the plushie thief and you were supposed to call security, but you were so vehement on catching them you ended up crashing into a coral diorama? And we didn’t even catch the thief.”

 

“That—that was—”

 

“You not thinking straight and rushing headfirst into a situation when you know better?” She supplies.

 

Keith huffs, “How did we even get here?”

 

“When I said that Shiro—”

 

“Quick Pidge! We’ve got to go back to our stations. Keith shove those tenders into your mouth, stat. Allura is here.”

 

Keith does as he’s told, but he can’t swallow fast enough before she arrives.

 

“Keith? Is everything alright?”

 

He chews again and gulps, almost sputtering out the remnants of his chicken tenders, “I’m okay. Almost choked for a second.”

 

“And why would that be? You weren’t eating outside of lunch break again were you?” She folds her arms and taps her fingers against her bicep.

 

“I— Uh. I... was— sorry.”

 

“It’s okay Keith. Just don’t do it again. I’ll have a word with Hunk.”

 

“Allura you don’t have to, there’s no need. It was my fault.”

 

She gives him a skeptical look then unfolds her arms, “I won’t talk to him if you insist.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

She sighs and waves him off, “I’ll see you later.”

 

“See you Allura.”

 

***

 

Keith and Shiro end up exchanging numbers. He doesn’t quite remember how it happened, but somehow Shiro’s phone was in hands and his phone in Shiro’s. He shakily types out his number and puts his first and last name in before handing Shiro’s phone back. Shiro hands Keith’s phone back after fumbling with the keys for a bit with a small blush on his cheeks. Keith looks down and sees he saved his name as _Shiro_ _♥_.

 

“Call you later?” Shiro asks.

 

“Yeah, of course.”

 

It takes Keith a while to gather enough courage to initiate contact with Shiro over the phone. It’s a different kind of intimacy he guesses. He’s always felt that way about phone calls. Sure, they lack face to face contact, but Shiro’s voice is so close. He can hear every swift intake of breath, every laugh he tries to stifle, his sleep laden voice when Keith calls in the middle of the night. Keith takes every little detail and tucks it away for later. Their calls stretch from once a week, to every other day, to every night. Keith normally wakes with the soft sounds of Shiro breathing in his ear or coarse huffs from exertion from his morning workout if he doesn’t hang up first. It’s a nice constant that becomes a part of Keith’s daily life, something irreplaceable and wonderful. Just like Shiro. He can feel him slowly wedging his way into his ribcage like he belongs there and Keith can’t imagine a day without him.

 

***

  


Keith stares at the rows of dolphins sitting on the shelf across from the counter where he mans the gift shop. _It would be corny if I gave him a dolphin,_ He thinks, _but maybe Shiro likes corny things?_ He shakes his head. Shiro definitely likes corny things, but Keith is not giving him a dolphin plushie.

 

“Excuwse me.” He hears. Keith has to move closer to the counter and peer over to see the little kid in front of him.

 

“What can I do for you kiddo?” He asks.

 

“Do yew have hippos?”

 

“Ah, sorry we don’t sell hippos.”

 

The kid’s eyes water and Keith starts to panic. He loves kids but he can’t deal with their crying.

 

“N-no hippo?” The kid sniffs.

 

“I’m sorry bud. I wish we had hippos too. I’ll tell you what though,” The kid glances up at him with glossy eyes and a snotty nose, “I’ll give you any animal you want on the house. It won’t be a hippo, but it’s the best I can do.”

 

The kid nods with a shy smile and walks over to the racks. They end up picking out three different stuffed animals, an otter, a crocodile, and a dolphin, “C-can I?”

 

“Sure,” Keith smiles and rings the animals up and deposits his own money into the cash register.

 

“Thank yew. K-Keef?”

 

Keith stares down at his name tag before looking back at the kid. He laughs and says, “Yeah, Keef. You’re welcome,” He pauses, “Where’s your guardian?”

 

“Don’ know.”

 

Keith grabs the phone next to the register, “What’s your full name kiddo?”

 

“Mira Hound.”

 

“Thanks,” He dials a few numbers, “Hello everyone, I would like to report a guardian-less child. If you are the guardian of Mira Hound, please report to the gift shop by the main entrance. Thank you.”

 

He and Mira stand facing each other awkwardly after he makes the announcement. Keith struggles to hold small talk with the kid, so he just lets them wander around the store before a panicked person bursts through the entrance.

 

“Mira!” The person shouts.

 

“Excuse me,” Keith pipes up, “Are you the guardian of this child?”

 

“Yes, I’m her mother.” She casts Keith a quick glance up and down before walking towards Mira.

 

“I’m going to need to see some identification.”

 

She rummages through her bag to pull out her id, Olia Hound, and her phone which has her and Mira smiling as her background.

 

“Is this enough?”

 

Keith nods and Olia takes her daughter by the hand, “Mira, what did I tell you about wandering off?” She scolds, “And put those toys back.”

 

“B-but Keef gave ‘em to me,” She points at him behind the counter.

 

“Did you?”

 

“Yeah, on the house. She’s a good kid. Too bad we don’t have hippos though,” He says.

 

“She is a good kid,” She bends down to address Mira, “Except for when you run off. Thank you for giving her the stuffed animals though.”

 

“No problem. Have a good day.”

 

“You too,” She shakes the hand that is clutching her daughter’s, “Tell the nice man goodbye.”

 

“Bye bye, Keef!”

 

Keith smiles and waves.

 

***

 

He ends up buying the dolphin.

 

Keith doesn’t know how or when. All he knows is that he has a stuffed dolphin in his hand and ten dollars less in his wallet.  He doesn’t even know how he’s going to give it to Shiro. He doesn’t even know if he _should_ give it to him. Was it too childish? Would he think it’s weird?

 

He spots Shiro in the break room. And he thinks vaguely that this is the only place that he can see Shiro during work since they both operate on opposite sides of the aquarium. He hides the dolphin behind his back awkwardly. He didn’t quite plan the speech he was going to make when he would present it to him.

 

“Sup Shiro.”

 

“Hey Keith,” He looks a little confused and tries to peer behind Keith, “Uh, what are you up to?”

 

“Nothing,” He leans against the counter, but he realizes he doesn’t look nearly as cool as he thinks he does right now.

 

“Hmm,” Shiro walks towards him. Keith feels like he’s shrinking. Shiro is so tall; it feels even more evident now, “What’s behind your back?”

 

“It’s nothing Shiro, I promise.”

 

“Okay, I concede.”

 

“Wait—” Keith says before his brain can even catch up, “It’s for you.”

 

He shoves the plushie into Shiro’s chest.

 

“For me?”

 

“Y— Yeah.”

 

“I love it, Keith. Thank you.” Shiro smiles down at the dolphin and all of the time he spent doubting himself melts away. He can feel joy bubbling up in his heart like seafoam.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“Of course it’s something. I’m going to go put it in my office right now.”

 

“Your office?”

 

“You haven’t seen it yet. Do you want to come?”

 

“Oh,” He pauses mulling it over for a second, “Uh, sure.”

 

Keith follows Shiro out the break room, through the crowd, past the plexiglass displays filled with animals and plant life. They make it to the other side of the aquarium, upstairs to the employee only area to Shiro’s office.

 

Keith can say it’s not what he expected. It’s bare, only a few framed pictures on his desk. One picture is Shiro in an orange Galaxy Garrison cadet uniform posing with and elder man that looks similar to him.

 

“Oh that picture, that’s me and my grandfather. Back when I first enrolled in the Garrison. He was a fighter pilot back in the day.”

 

Shiro sets the dolphin next to the photograph. Keith looks at the photograph to the left of it. It’s Matt and Commander Holt with Shiro standing between them. Shiro looks so different, he thinks, his scar his gone and his hair is all black. He’s as beautiful now as he was back then. Keith would find Shiro beautiful no matter how he looks

 

“Sorry there isn’t much in here.” Shiro says as he rubs at the stubble at the nape of his neck.

 

Keith shakes his head, “You don’t have to apologize for that. You don’t need to change anything for me.”

 

Shiro’s face turns bright red and coughs into his hand.

 

Keith looks him in the eye and feels his skin begin to flush once he realizes the implications of his words, “Uh… I— I didn’t mean—  Not like— ”

 

“Keith, _Keith_ , it’s okay. I know what you meant.”

 

He melts. He loves the way his name sounds on Shiro’s tongue, sweet and calming, “Right, sorry.”

 

Shiro steps closer, “You don’t need to apologize either.”

 

Keith feels himself swallow a huge lump in his throat that he hadn’t felt there before, “R—right.” He turns away from Shiro’s gaze, “I’ll…  I’ll see you around then.”

 

“Wait—” Keith hears him say from behind the closed door, but he had already committed to leaving. He runs to the bathroom and splashes his face. He grabs a paper towel and scrubs his skin almost furiously. He hadn’t felt like this towards anyone in a long time. And he didn’t really want to. He knew how it would end. How it always ends.

 

He shouldn’t.

 

***

 

Shiro likes Keith.

 

 _A lot_.

 

It’s been hard for him to fall back into the rhythm of liking someone again. His previous relationship ended on bad terms and although they were amicable exes, it was getting hard for the both of them to even look at each other anymore. That relationship took a piece of Shiro’s heart with it, as did his accident. He felt himself starting to build a wall around his heart before he met Keith, but tiny fissures started appearing through the stone, allowing light to peek through, allowing _Keith_ to peek through.

 

Keith was easy to talk to. He didn’t prod when Shiro wasn’t comfortable, he was honest and kind in a way most people weren’t to him these days. He didn’t look at him like he was broken, or someone to pity, or fix. And that was a nice reprieve for his heart, Keith was a nice reprieve. Shiro thinks it was inevitable that he would fall for Keith. It feels as if he’s known him for far longer than a few months. More like a few lifetimes, like they’ve always floated near each other, reaching out for each other, and this was the timeline where two points meet.

 

He wants to surprise him.

 

Shiro finds himself standing in front of the decoration aisle at Walmart after work. He doesn’t really have a game plan at the moment, but he shoves a few boxes of string lights and paper lanterns into his shopping crate. He could take Keith up to the rooftop of the aquarium and have it decorated with the lights and lanterns. It’s beautiful at night and Keith probably hasn’t seen it then. Maybe he’ll work up enough courage to confess. He shakes his head. He doesn’t even know if Keith feels the same way yet.

 

“Uh… sir?”

 

Shiro blinks away his thoughts, “Y—yes?”

 

“You’re holding up the line. Please swipe your card.”

 

He feels heat creep into his cheeks as he apologizes, “I’m so sorry.” He shoves his card into the card reader so hard in his haste that it gets stuck. Needless to say, lane 1 had to close for the day until they could call someone in to unwedge his card. It comes out mangled and part of the magnetic stripe has been scraped through. He’ll have to get a replacement even after all of this waiting. He apologizes to the cashier and repair worker one more time and compensates the repair worker before he leaves. He’s never going to this Walmart again in fear of coming face to face with that cashier again or the whole experience again.

 

Shiro sneaks off to the rooftop with the bags of decorations during his lunch break the next day. He checked the weather report and it’s supposed to be clear and sunny for the remainder of the day. He starts with finding the outlets to plug in the extension cords he brought from home. He then tears open the boxes of paper lanterns and reads the instructions. After securing all of the wires in about thirty lanterns he turns back and realizes that there’s nothing for the string lights and lanterns to attach to. He checks his watch.

Twenty minutes until his lunch break is over and two hours until his next break. The closest store he could reach from the aquarium is the Walmart that he embarrassed himself at yesterday. If he wants to make the surprise happen today, he’s going to have to suck up his pride and go. He’s not sure if he’ll be able to leave the stuff out overnight in case there’s someone who does a sweep of the roof every night. Shiro sighs and runs down to the parking lot.

 

When he presses the unlock button on his keys he hears a voice behind him, “Shiro, where are you going?”

 

“Oh, hey Lance. Just going to buy some stuff at Walmart.”

 

Lance throws him an incredulous look, “We have like fifteen minutes left of our break and thirty minutes until the next show. There and back already takes ten minutes.”

 

Shiro hops into the driver’s seat, “I’ll make it back in time if I leave now.”

 

“Let’s make the odds better then, shall we? I’ll tag along.”

 

“We’ll be there forever,” Shiro laughs.

 

Lance slides into the passenger seat, “Trust me.”

 

***

 

They make it back with one minute to spare.

 

After four shows back to back, they have another break. Lance joins Shiro this time on the rooftop and they set up the poles. Lance puts up the lights with electrical tape and Shiro slots the lanterns onto each individual light. When they’re done and Shiro’s satisfied with the arrangement, they sit on the side of the large open tank.

 

“So, what’s all this for?” Lance asks.

 

“I, uh, wanted to surprise someone.”

 

“Oh. Who’s the lucky person Shiro?” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

 

“I don’t know if I’d say lucky is the right word.”

 

Lance puts down the electrical tape in his hand, “Shiro. Anyone would be so lucky to have an amazing guy like you. You’re thoughtful, sweet, charming, handsome, smart, and just a joy to be around. They’d have to be a fool not to see that.”

 

“Thanks Lance,” He says slightly taken aback, “That’s… really kind of you to say.”

 

“Well, I mean it. You’ve always been someone I’ve admired and I just want to see you happy, you know? I hope it works out.”

 

“Me too,” He whispers, “It’s— it’s Keith by the way.”

 

“Oh, you’ve got nothing to worry about then.”

 

Shiro’s head whips around so fast, he swears he can hear his neck creek, “What?”

 

Lance’s mouth goes agape, “Shiro, my dude, my man. Keith has the _biggest_ crush on you.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Uhh yeah. Seriously, everyone knows. Hunk and Pidge told me about how he talks about you all the time. Have you seen the way he looks at you? His eyes light up when he sees you and he smiles. _Actually_ smiles,” He shakes his head, “Keith smiling, Smiles look creepy on Keith, Shiro.”

 

“I think his smiles are adorable.”

 

Lance rolls his eyes, “You’re perfect for each other.”

 

Shiro looks down at his hands, “...Do you think he’ll say yes if I ask him?”

 

“One hundred percent. He’d really be a fool to say no, and if I’m wrong I’ll do your cleaning duties for a month.”

 

“I guess I’ll have something to look forward to if things go south.”

 

“But they won’t, so hear me out on the second half of my proposal. You’ll have to do mine if he does.”

 

Shiro eyes him suspiciously, “This is definitely a trap, but I’m in.”

 

“Your confidence in Keith’s feelings for you sure is admirable.”

 

“What can I say? I’m used to rejection.”

 

“You shouldn’t be. You deserve much more than that Shiro. And if he rejects you then he’s not worthy of you. You deserve someone that can give you all of the love you deserve, and you deserve all of the love this world has to offer Shiro.”

 

“Thank you, Lance. Really, I appreciate you a lot and you’re deserving of love too.”

 

“Don’t get all sappy on me, Shiro.”

 

“It’s true. I’m surprised you’re still single.”

 

Lance gasped, “Uh, pft, ha, I’m just—  picky, right, picky. I have people clamoring all over me you know?”

 

“Right… because you’re a casanova.”

 

“Exactly, you get it. It’s hard being popular.”

 

“Mmm,” Shiro hums, “Thanks again for helping me set this up and for your kind words.”

 

“It’s no problem. I’m here if you need.”

 

Shiro smiles and they head back in for their next shift.

  
  


***

 

“Hey Keith,” Shiro says offhandedly one night while he’s closing up the aquarium.

 

“What’s up Shiro?”

 

“Do you want to go check something out with me real quick?”

 

“Uh, sure.”

 

“Come on then, this way,” Shiro twines their fingers together easily and Keith can feel his heart begin to thump, “I—Is this okay?” Shiro asks, directing his gaze to their hands.

 

 _More than okay._ But, Keith can’t bring himself to formulate words right now even if he tried, so he just gulps and nods dumbly.

 

Shiro leads them outside to an area Keith hadn’t seen before. Shiro lets go of Keith’s hand and he can already feel Shiro’s heat escaping his palm. He frowns a bit before he looks up.

 

“Woah... it’s beautiful out here at night.” He says, and it is. Keith can see the city lights in the far distance and the paper lanterns illuminating the tank from overhead, bright against the deep blue cloudless sky. Like large stars and gas planets that have been brought down to earth for him to see. He looks back at Shiro who’s nervously rubbing the back of his head, “Shiro did you put these up?”

 

“Maybe.” He says mischievously, “I had a little help.”

 

“It’s really nice,” He pauses to take another look around before settling his gaze back on Shiro, “Do you come up here often?”

 

“Yeah, we sometimes do training out here in this tank. This was where they used to do shows, or so Lance told me. I also like coming up here to clear my mind.”

 

Keith ignores the annoyed twitch that racks through his body at the mention of Lance and walks closer to Shiro who is standing near the edge of the tank, “I wish they still did them here.”

 

“I’m glad I took you out here,” Shiro smiles at him. He’s so radiant, sometimes his heart hurts so much when he realizes that soft and honest smile is always directed at him, “I’m glad you like it.” He says softer.

 

“Of course I do. Thank you for showing me.”

 

“It’s nothing.” Shiro sits down at the edge of the pool and slowly wiggles his body into the water. It fails miserably because he ends up slipping and his hair ends up drenched. He slicks the white patch of his hair back and Keith laughs.

 

“You look different with your fringe slicked back.”

 

“Is it a bad different?” Shiro asks mildly concerned.

 

“No, no it’s not bad. Just _different_. I like it.”

 

Shiro beams again, and god, Keith would do anything to keep him smiling.

 

“Can you swim?”

 

“Of course—”

 

“Good.” Keith raises an eyebrow before he feels the cool metal of Shiro’s palm wrap around his arm and pull him into the tank. A stray yelp erupts from his throat and then he’s enveloped in the frigid water all the way down to the top of his head.

 

“Shiro!” Keith yells when his head resurfaces, but it lacks malice and he can’t find it in himself to be annoyed. Not when Shiro’s laughter is bubbling up from his abdomen and filling every bit of Keith’s core.

 

“I’m sorry,” He huffs, winded from seeing Keith flounder about, “I should’ve asked to pull you in.”

 

“No it’s okay. I don’t have my phone on me anyway,” He pauses, then tentatively splashes at Shiro.

 

“Hey…” He says with faux irritation before splashing back at Keith in ernest. The water glides past their palms, drenching their hair and faces even further until they’re both laughing and sore. They end up drifting closer and closer, like they’re bound to each other’s orbits. Then they’re face to face, water slicked skin, panting, but content. Shiro finds his palm reaching out to cup Keith’s cheek, Keith’s eyes flutter shut at the contact then he’s leaning into Shiro’s touch. He’s still smiling, still radiant, and Shiro wants nothing more than to kiss him, over and over, until the taste of seawater is long forgotten and all there is, is Keith.

 

“Keith,” He whispers, “May I kiss you?”

 

“Mm,” He nods, his eyes still drawn shut from all the water in them.

 

Shiro swipes his hand gently across Keith’s face; moving his wet bangs from his eyes, and dips his head in to brush his lips against Keith’s. Shiro could feel fire igniting his skin, his core, everything.  Keith was everything. And everything he ever wanted. Keith’s hand rests on top of his as he tilts his head to kiss Shiro back, with more strength, more intensity, like the flame he ignited within Shiro. Keith melts into him and drapes his arms around his neck.

 

They break apart for air and Shiro’s giving Keith another playful grin before he hoists him up on his shoulders.

 

“Woah, Shiro!” He yells as he tries to clutch onto something to keep steady.

 

“It’s okay Keith. I’ve got you.” Shiro places his arms around Keith’s shins and starts to swim through the water. Up on Shiro’s shoulders he can take in all of the beauty of the tank and the shimmering lights above. Shiro’s laugh reverberates through all of his body and he can’t help himself from laughing too. Being with Shiro makes him so happy.

 

He tangles his fingers into Shiro’s wet tee and holds onto him tightly. Shiro squeezes his shins tighter and dips beneath the water. Water reaches up to Keith’s knees before Shiro resurfaces. He looks up at Keith, “Is it okay if I take you under?”

 

“ _Oh_. You’re asking now?” He snorts.

 

“Hey, I just want to make sure.”

 

“You can.”

 

Shiro grabs Keith and takes them both under. Bubbles swirl up between them as Shiro lets Keith go and he swims closer to him. They gaze at each other again before Shiro sneaks in another kiss. Keith gasps momentarily, filling his vision with bubbles, before he kisses Shiro back. His hands find their way onto Shiro’s shoulders and Shiro pulls them both up for air. Their heads float above the water for a bit, Keith’s hands still glued to Shiro’s shoulders and they hold each other's’ gaze. Shiro cracks first. He throws his head back and a laugh erupts from his throat. It’s the most beautiful sound Keith has heard and he finds his lips quirking awkwardly before a laugh spills from his mouth.

 

“What’s so funny?” Keith manages between spurts of laughter.

 

Shiro presses his head forward and rubs his forehead against Keith. His forelock is wet and ticklish but he doesn’t mind. He leans back into Shiro’s warmth, “I’m so happy,” He whispers, “You make me happy.”

 

“Shiro…” His voice wavers, “You make me happy too.”

 

Shiro gathers him into his arms and spins him around, “I’m glad.” He beams. Keith can feel his eyes start to water as he sees Shiro staring up at him. All of that radiance, the light in his eyes, reflecting the soft lantern lights, the crinkle of his eyes, the wide smile on his lips, all of that is directed at him. _For him_ . And _only_ him.

 

God, it only makes Keith fall even harder.

 

Shiro likes him. Shiro likes _him_. Likes him in a way that isn’t fueled by pity, cares for him in a way that he’s never felt before. Shiro’s so endlessly kind and full of light that Keith thinks he’ll explode trying to contain all that Shiro wants to give him. And it overwhelms him. He can’t stop himself when he feels his cheeks streak with hot tears and Shiro’s looking up at him with worry.

 

“Keith?” He lowers Keith back into the water and rubs his thumbs against Keith’s flushed cheeks.

 

“It’s nothing. I’m just happy.” He smiles back, and he means it.

 

Shiro embraces him and brushes his hair back. He feels Shiro open his mouth to say something, but he opts not to. Keith’s grateful for that. He’d rather not talk about why something that may seem simple to others is so poignant to him. And he’d rather not dump all of that on Shiro right now. Instead Shiro offers, “Do you want to go back?”

 

Keith shakes his head, “Just a little longer.”

 

He doesn’t want to let go of Shiro yet.

 

***

 

Shiro calls after work when Keith is settled down at his desk unwinding and playing on his switch, “Keith.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You’re off on Saturdays right?”

 

Keith raises his eyebrow at that, “Yeah, why?”

 

“Do you want to go on a d-date? Or... something? I mean- we- we don’t have to if you don’t want. I just…”

 

Keith pauses his game and sets down his controller, “Shiro. I’d love that.”

 

Keith can hear Shiro exhale shakily over the line, “Good…” He says more firmly this time, “Good. I’m glad. I’ll meet you in Altea’s parking lot. Is 11 a.m. okay?”

 

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.”

 

“Goodnight, Keith.”

 

“Goodnight, Shiro.” Keith hangs up and stretches. He belatedly wonders why Shiro didn’t just ask him for his address. Not that he would want Shiro to see his shack, not yet at least. He knows Shiro wouldn’t judge him for living there. It’s just a little too personal this early on in their fledgling relationship. He shakes his head. They’re going on their first official date. He picks back up his controller and smiles.

 

Saturday seems too far away all of a sudden.

  


***

 

Shiro is waiting outside in the parking lot leaning against his Hummer when Keith arrives. It’s 10:55 am and Keith wonders how long Shiro has been waiting for him.

 

“You’re early,” He smiles.

 

He rolls his eyes, “Only by five minutes, Shiro.”

 

Shiro ruffles his hair, “Still early nonetheless. Come on.” Shiro extends his hand.

 

Keith takes it and weaves his fingers between Shiro’s, “So where are we going?”

 

Shiro points up ahead at the aquarium, “There.”

 

“Shiro,” Keith huffs, but he’s not angry, “We work there.”

 

“But have you been on a date here? It’s pretty nice.”

 

“I haven’t.”

 

“Exactly,” He smiles and says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Don’t pout at me like that. I’ll make it worth your while, starboy.”

 

Keith laughs, “Okay, okay. But what about Lance and the others?”

 

“They won’t bother us. I promise.”

 

“Okay.” He says for the last time and squeezes Shiro’s hand.

 

***

 

They arrive at the front desk and Shiro hands in two tickets. They aren’t just general admission. They include every extra exhibit and aquatic encounter. Keith frowns, even with the employee discount he knows how expensive the full package can be. The receptionist recognizes Shiro and they hit it off for a bit before Shiro tells them they have to get to their date. The person, Zari, waves at Keith too and calls him by name. Keith flounders a bit before waving back and telling them to have a nice day.

 

They get inside and Shiro unfolds a map between them, “Where to first?”

 

“Shiro. We work here.”

 

“I’m trying to have an authentic experience, okay? Play along with me, baby.”

 

That. That was new. Keith feels his face grow hot.

 

“S-sorry!” Shiro blurts out, “If you don’t like it I’ll stop.”

 

No. Keith definitely likes it, but he doesn’t know how to tell Shiro properly, so he just shakes his head furiously.

 

“Okay,” Shiro laughs before he glances back at the map, “Let’s grab something to eat first. Have you eaten yet?”

 

“I just had a Clif bar when I woke up. I didn’t have time to cook.”

 

“Then let’s get some food.” Shiro folds the map up and takes Keith’s hand again.

 

They settle on a burger joint in the food court. Shiro ends up getting almost every possible topping on his burger and it kind of looks like a heart attack to Keith if he were to be honest. Keith ends up getting sparse toppings and only ketchup with his burger. Keith ends up paying for the both of them, learning from last time to have his card ready before Shiro does. They settle at a little table for two and Shiro waits for Keith to have a bite first before he digs into his own food. This Shiro is different from their first lunch date. Keith thought Shiro was an elegant eater, now he couldn’t be more wrong.

 

He stuffs his face while trying to stay modest. It’s kind of cute, Keith wants to admit. Shiro’s eyes are wide like it’s the best burger he’s ever had and his cheeks are filled to the brim. _He looks kind of like a chipmunk_ , Keith thinks. He reaches out his hand. “God, you’re such a dork,” Keith says as he rubs the sauce off the corner of Shiro’s lips.

 

Shiro places a chaste kiss on Keith’s thumb, “But I’m your dork.”

 

Keith withdraws his hand and flushes. He swears he never blushes this much. It’s only for Shiro. Shiro’s flustered too, but he’s better at hiding it. Shiro coughs into his fist awkwardly and wipes his lips with his napkin.

 

_Nevermind._

 

They’re both dorks and are bad at hiding it.

 

Keith rests his hand on his cheek and sighs, “You are.”

 

Shiro smiles back and places his napkin on his tray, “Are you going to finish those?” He asks, pointing to Keith’s untouched fries.

 

Keith presses his tray forward, “You can have them. I’m not really a fry guy.”

 

“Thank you,” He says before he unceremoniously inhales the whole tray. Keith laughs before eating the rest of his burger and chugging down his drink. After they finish eating and deposit their trays, Shiro takes his hand and motions him toward the sea otter exhibit. The sea otters are so adorable, but the man next to him is even cuter. Shiro’s completely engrossed. He stands as close to the plexiglass as he can, his eyes are filled with stars. And Keith can’t take his eyes off of him.

 

When an otter does a cute little trick, Shiro turns to Keith, “Keith,” he says, “Did you see that?”

 

He sees them do their tricks every day, but he can’t find it in himself to dampen Shiro’s spirits, “I missed it.” He says softly, and Shiro takes his hand and pulls him closer.

 

“Look.” He points.

 

“I’m looking,” Shiro gives him a little pout, “Okay, okay.” He concedes with a laugh. They stand there until it gets more crowded and Shiro tugs him over to another exhibit. They end up in front of the largest exhibit, Deep Sea Scavenger, the home of the whale sharks. There are other schools of fish in there, but most people visit it to see the massive sharks. They’re one of Keith’s favorite types of fish, they’re gentle giants, have throat openings the size of a nickel, and they’re the largest fish in the world. Keith likes hanging out in this exhibit during closing time. It helps him organize his thoughts, reminds him how much of the world that remains to be seen, how life flourishes in so many forms. Shiro squeezes his hand and they sit on the steps that double as seats for the exhibit.

 

Shiro let’s Keith sit first and their hands fall unto his lap as he settles in close to him, “Is this okay?”

 

“More than okay.”

 

Shiro gives him a warm smile before turning his attention back to the tank, “Look at that big fish.”

 

He follows where Shiro’s gaze is directed. It’s on a large, mottled, green fish. The fish in question has a huge hump in the center of its face which is pressed against the plexiglass where it stays unmoving unlike the other creatures in the exhibit.

 

“I’m gonna name it Bob.”

 

“Bob,” Keith says deadpan, “Out of all of the possible names.”

 

“What? Bob is a good name.” Shiro pouts again. Keith doesn’t know how he does it. He doesn’t know he ended up with such a dork as a boyfriend. _His boyfriend_.  He smiles.

 

“It’s nothing,” He points to the small yellow fish cozied into the side of Bob, “I’ll name the fish next to it Tom.”

 

“Bob and Tom, huh?”

 

“Bom or Tob?”

 

“Keith, what are you doing?”

 

“I’m giving them a ship name.”

 

“A what?”

 

“Pidge and Hunk told me about this,” He looks back at the tank before adding, “There’s is Punk by the way.”

 

“What would ours be?”

 

“Keiro? Or maybe Sheith.”

 

“Sheith sounds nice,” Shiro says softly, “Like a sword sheath.”

 

“Yeah or like the penile sheath.”

 

Shiro sputters over his saliva, “W—What!?”

 

Keith blinks over at him, “Unlike us, foreskin is a sheath that the penis completely retracts into. Most mammals have them, like sea otters. You didn’t know that?”

 

Shiro gulps, “No, I did not know that.”

 

“Yeah well, I did study the anatomy of a lot of aquatic animals while Allura was setting me up with a job here. I thought it would come in handy sometime.”

 

“Right…”

 

“Hey! You never know when someone wants to know that. At least I’ll be prepared.”

 

“Is that a common question or…?”

 

Keith’s face flushes, “Let’s just drop it, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Shiro agrees easily with a laugh, “Do you want to check out the other exhibits?”

 

“Sure,” Keith mumbles.

 

They walk side by side to the small crab exhibit, their hands brushing sporadically. Keith’s hand itches to just grab Shiro’s so they can stop doing this awkward hand game, but he ends up chickening out in the end.

 

“I thought it was an interesting fact by the way,” Shiro says after a long stretch of silence.

 

“Shirooo,” Keith groans rubbing his face with his hands, “I thought we dropped it.”

 

“Well, we did, but I want you to know it didn’t weird me out or anything. I’d like it if you told me more random facts.”

 

Keith gives him a skeptical look before he turns back to the tanks, “Are you sure?”

 

“Positive. I won’t laugh.”

 

“I can’t think of any weird ones, right now.”

 

“It doesn’t have to be a weird one.”

 

Keith racks his brain for a moment, “The exoskeletons of crabs are made of the same substance that exist in the cell walls of fungi.”

 

“Woah, crabs must be really fun guys to have around.”

 

“Please, no. Why?” He whines.

 

Shiro laughs, “What? It’s a good pun. Don’t look at me like that.”

 

“It was terrible and you wounded me.”

 

He pouts, “I’m sorry, baby.”

 

“You— you… that’s unfair.” Keith’s ears tinge with a deep pink.

 

“What is?”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

“I don’t. You’re going to have to tell me.”

 

“Stop teasing. You know you’re being cute.”

 

Shiro’s eyes glimmer, “You think I’m cute?”

 

“Wha— ? Of course I do, Shiro.”

 

“I’m glad,” Shiro smiles as he slots their hands together, “I think you’re cuter though.”

 

“No you—”

 

“Ugh, gross guys we’re at the aquarium not at a molasses factory, stop being sappy.”

 

“Lance,” Shiro’s eyes widen in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

 

“We, I mean— I was just walking by.”

 

Shiro raises his eyebrow unconvinced, “Are Pidge and Hunk with you?”

 

“Pft— no,” Shiro’s eyes narrow, “Yes, yeah they are. They’re hiding behind the jellyfish displays. We just wanted to make sure your date is going smoothly.”

 

“Well, it was until you interrupted it.” Keith snarks.

 

“I know you two don’t get along well, but Lance helped me set up the rooftop that night and helped me in a lot of ways. He’s a good guy just abrasive at times. Not that that’s any excuse for his behavior though.”

 

Lance turns to him, “And I’m sorry, Keith. Really. I’ve been terrible to you ever since we’ve both been employed here and way back when we went to the Garrison together. I’ve been holding a grudge all this time because I was jealous and insecure. You’re so self-assured and although it hurts to admit, you were always a better pilot than me. I guess I let that cloud my judgement of you and didn’t deserve that. There’s no excuse for it. It’d be nice if we could start over or something.”

 

Keith’s genuinely taken aback. He hadn’t expected any sort of apology from Lance ever. He was ridiculously prideful to say the least, but Keith also admits he may not have fully understood him either. He’s never really had the time to between the painful jabs and harmful teasing. He looks to Shiro who gives him an encouraging nod, “I, uh, thank you Lance. I know it can take a lot of courage to admit our shortcomings and to ask for forgiveness,” He shakes his head slightly in thought, “What I mean to say is, I’d like it if we started over. To be honest, it’s going to take some time for me to forgive you, but we can start with being civil first.”

 

“I’d like that,” He outstretches his palm. Keith takes it and shakes it firmly, “I’ll see you two around later?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wow, I never expected him to apologize. Did you put him up to this?” Keith says when they’re out of earshot.

 

“I didn’t put him up to anything. I’m glad he’s trying to repair you guys’ relationship.”

 

“Hmm… I do feel better now.”

 

“I’m glad,” Shiro smiles and he can feel his heart melt a little.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Oh, it’s time,” Shiro says looking down at his phone as it rings from a timer he set.

 

“Time for what, Shiro?”

 

Keith curiously follows Shiro to the authorized area above the Deep Sea Scavenger exhibit. The area is beautiful. It has a tiled floor surrounding the large plexiglass tank. Keith can see the small fish swimming close to the surface. The fluorescent lights and natural skylight blend together illuminating the room. One of the employees, Rizavi, is standing in a wetsuit. Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail and soaked to the root. She smiles and asks them to follow her.

 

“Shiro…” Shiro looks at him innocently, “Shiro you didn’t.”

 

Shiro gives him a large mischievous smirk, “Who knows?”

 

“Shiro,” Keith feels so overwhelmed. He’s always wanted to swim in the large tank with the whale sharks. He’s wanted to ever since he’d gotten the job and heard about it. But the price was steep even for half an hour. Keith wasn’t sure he’d ever pay that much for a non-necessity. And here Shiro was burning a hole in his wallet for him on the very first real date.

 

“Don’t worry about it Keith,” He reassures, “And besides, I got us two hours. We can do the first half, take two hours off and have lunch then come back for the other hour.”

 

“Two hours? How could I ever repay this Shiro. I—”

 

“Please, I promise you this is no burden whatsoever. I want you to forget about the cost and enjoy yourself. You happy is the biggest payment I could receive.”

 

Keith’s heart feels so full. He’s going to enjoy the hell out of this experience for Shiro, and for himself. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and he’s glad that he’s going to spend it with Shiro.

 

They head to the briefing room, which is a small dark room with a few monitors. Rizavi is joined by James, who also dons a skintight wetsuit. Keith isn’t particularly fond of James and as far as he know the feeling is mutual. They attended the Garrison together before Keith dropped out. James was a rude adversary to say the least and they didn’t mesh well. Especially when James took harsh jabs at Keith. But regardless, they somehow ended up working at the same establishment. His haughtiness and elitism still landed him in the same workplace as Keith, so Keith did find a little humor and irony in that certain turn of events.

 

“Okay, so let's lay down some ground rules,” James says sternly.

 

“Sea rules,” Rizavi adds sardonically.

 

Everyone groans and James clears his throat, “Right…Well the number one rule is to not touch any of the aquatic life in the tank. I don’t care if a whale shark comes up to you and swims beside you, do not reach out and touch it. We are disturbing their habitat and we’d like to leave the aquatic life alone as much as possible while we dive.

 

“Number two, do not leave your assigned guide. Since you guys are a couple you’ll be assigned one guide who will be Rizavi here. If you cannot swim she can hold your hand and guide you through the tank. Otherwise, you can hold each other’s hands if you’d like, but you must stay in her vicinity. If you want to come out of the tank at any time during the tour, you can just tap Rizavi’s shoulder twice and she’ll guide you back to the dock. Any questions?”

  


“No, sir.” Keith snarked.

 

“Nope.”

 

James narrowed his eyes at Keith, but continued, “I forgot to add this, but you also get free shirts afterwards. They’re quite rare and only come with this package, so remember to come back here to debrief and get them.”

 

“Thank you James and Rizavi.” Shiro says.

 

Keith nods, “Thank you.”

 

Keith and Shiro are asked for their sizes and then are handed corresponding wetsuits. They hit the shower before they put them on and rinse them off. Keith slides into his easily, but he can hear Shiro grunting and struggling from the next stall over.

 

“You okay in there?”

 

“Ahh, yeah it’s hard for me to fit into these things sometimes.”

 

“Even the one you use for the dolphin shows?”

 

“Especially that one,” He laughs as he opens the stall. His face is flushed from exertion, but he beams once he sees Keith, “You look good.”

 

“Th—thanks. You too, Shiro,” And he does, the suit makes everything visible. The curves of his muscles, his toned chest, and stomach. Suddenly Keith finds himself a little self-conscious, but everyone is wearing a wetsuit too so he can’t find himself to care enough.

 

Rizavi gets them hooked up with oxygen tanks and masks. They wedge their feet into sleek, black swimming flippers. After they’re all suited up, they sit at the edge of the dock until she pulls them in one by one. The first thing Keith notices when the water touches his skin is that it’s not as cold as he expected. He plants his face in the water and gasps as he sees the marvel beneath him. It’s one thing to see it every day behind six hundred millimeter plexiglass, but to actually be in the water and look the brimming aquatic life up close is another thing. Rizavi takes off in front of them and Keith can feel a pressure weighing on his palm. Shiro looks at him in question and Keith twines his fingers with Shiro’s and lets him guide him through the glittering blue.

 

Keith takes in the huge schools of fish shimmering reds, vibrant greens, yellows, deep blues, and pretty violets. He can see the fish overlapping, traversing behind rocks, huddling close to the large whale sharks providing them shelter. It’s as if he’s looking at a painting in motion. As he’s looking over at another school of fish passing by, he hears a little squeal from Shiro. He looks over and a squeal of his own sneaks up his throat. A whale shark has situated itself not even a foot away from Shiro. Keith can feel Shiro squeeze his hand from excitement. He glances over at Keith and widens his eyes in glee before looking back at the shark. Keith smiles, well, as much as he can with a snorkel in his mouth. When he looks back at his side he’s joined by a whale shark of his own.

 

 _They’re so large,_ he thinks.

 

Thirty-nine feet long, five feet wide, and twenty-two tons to be exact.

 

They seem huge from afar, but up close it’s massive and if they weren’t filter-feeders, Keith is sure one could swallow him whole in one go. He can see each white spot on its skin, each a slightly different shape, the ridges uneven like they were hastily painted on, but beautiful in their own right. They kind of remind him of Shiro. Large and gentle and beautiful. Imperfect, but perfect all the same. He finds it funny how they’ve always been his favorite type of fish and now even they remind him of his boyfriend. Rizavi turns around to face them and points to the surface. She removes her snorkel from her mouth, “And that concludes our first hour of the tour. We’ll explore the other half and the outer ring after your lunch break and after you’ve had thirty minutes or so to digest before coming back.”

 

Keith blinks. An hour passed by so quickly. He wants to stay just a little longer, but he knows he can’t. He follows the gentle tug of Shiro’s hand as he guides him back to the dock. Rizavi removes their gear and racks it to be washed before use again. They walk over to their lockers and remove their clothes before walking to the shower. Keith peels off the wetsuit with a shiver. It was starting to feel like a second skin so he’s glad he gets to take it off, even if it’s only for a little while.

 

He shakes his hair before toweling it off and slipping back into his day clothes. When he’s out, Shiro’s standing by his locker texting on his phone. He looks up with a smile and pockets the device.

 

“Hey, you.”

 

“Hey,” Keith smiled.

 

“What do you want to eat for lunch?”

 

“What about the Blue Chair again?”

 

“Okay,” He says easily as he walks over to take Keith’s hand.

 

“But I’m paying this time,” He says sternly.

 

“Okay, okay,” Shiro laughs.

 

“I’m serious. You could get the whole menu and I’ll buy it, Shiro.”

 

“Keith…” He softens, “Really you don’t have to do all that. There’s nothing to repay.”

 

“I want to.”

 

Shiro smiles, “How about we start with a simple sandwich and tea?”

 

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

***

 

They conclude the second half of their tank excursion after their lunch wears off. Rizavi walks them back to the small room to debrief and get their shirts. They’re altea pink with the Altea Aquarium logo screen printed on the front with a large whale shark on the back and text underneath that reads ‘I swam with whale sharks.’

 

“We have our first couple tees.” Shiro laughs as he inspects the shirt.

 

Keith nods, “They’re better than those corny ‘her king’ and ‘his queen’ shirts.”

 

“Those are so bad,” Shiro folds his shirt and tucks it under his arm, “We should coordinate an outfit sometime.”

 

“That sounds fun actually.”

 

“Mmm,” Shiro hums, “It’s quite common back in Japan. I’d like if we did it sometime,” Keith’s hand slips into his, “Do you want to finish our tour with the jellyfish exhibit? Then, we can go out for dinner.”

 

“Sure.”

 

They stand in front of the jellyfish tanks taking in the massive swarm of jellyfish. Some are soft peach colored, others fluorescent white. There’s one tank with led lights that change color cycles every two minutes making the jellyfish appear a whole spectrum of hues. Keith hears the snap of a phone before he registers it and he stares up at Shiro.

 

“You looked really beautiful, sorry. I can delete it if you want.” Although he can see that Shiro really, really doesn’t want to delete the photo.

 

“No, it’s okay. I just wasn’t ready. We can take one together if you’d like.”

 

Shiro smiles and Keith swears it gets more blinding each time, “I’d love that.”

 

He settles next to Keith and wraps his arm around his shoulder, “Ready?”

 

Keith nods and before he hears the shutter snap he feels the warm press of Shiro’s lips against his cheek. Shiro pulls the phone down to look at the picture and he puts it out for Keith to see. His face is lit up like a million stars on a clear night. It’s the happiest he’s ever seen himself and it’s captured on Shiro’s device forever.

 

“It’s perfect,” Shiro says as Keith sees him set it as his lock screen.

 

“It is,” Keith nods, “Can you send it to me?”

 

“Of course. I’ll have to email it though since you can’t get multimedia messages on your phone.”

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” He laughs, “I’ll put it as my desktop background.”

 

Keith looks up at Shiro and sees him staring back down at him with such reverence he never thought could be reserved for him. Shiro’s looking at him as if he created the universe and all of the beauty within it just by existing. And Keith knows that’s how he’s looking back at him, how he’s looking back at _his_ Shiro.

 

“Keith.”

 

Keith’s eyes flutter shut, “You don’t have to ask Shiro.”

 

And Shiro doesn’t. He kisses Keith with a soft hunger, each incessant press of Shiro’s lips causing a jolt of electricity to spark up his spine. He’s grateful that this exhibit is dark enough not to attract any attention, but he also can’t find himself to care when Shiro’s lips are against his. All too soon, it’s over and Shiro’s hands are clasping Keith’s like its second nature. Their foreheads knock against each other’s gently. Shiro places a chaste kiss to his forehead before pulling away.

 

“Do you want to go to the gift shop before we leave?”

 

“Sure.”

 

The gift shop is crowded, unsurprisingly. They’re into the more busy hours of the day. Keith’s glad they arrived early so they got to enjoy the quieter hours together in peace.

 

“I wish we sold hippos here.”

 

“You remembered?”

 

Shiro lets out a small chuckle, “Of course. Maybe a dolphin would be nice so we could have matching ones.”

 

“You don’t have to buy me anything Shiro.”

 

“But, I want to.”

 

“Okay,” Keith resigns reluctantly.

 

Shiro walks over to the small shelf next to the dolphin plushie and finds matching dolphin phone charms. They can be bought as a set or for one person at a slightly steeper price. He snags the last pair which is a red and black set along with a dolphin plushie. Keith joins him at the checkout counter after a few minutes of browsing.

 

“You bought something too?” Shiro asks.

 

“It’s not much, but here.”

 

He takes the bag from Keith and he feels his face immediately begin to crinkle.

 

“I know you like sea otters, so yeah.”

 

“Thank you, Keith. I love it.” He hugs the plushie to his chest before taking Keith into his arms too, “I got you something too.”

 

He holds up the shiny dolphin charms, “You can pick the one you want, and I can help you strap it onto your phone.”

 

“Shiro, these are adorable. I’ll take the red one if that’s okay.”

 

“That’s perfect. Red suits you.”

 

Keith smiles, soft and gentle, like him,“Thank you.”

 

Shiro also hands him the bag with the dolphin in it and Keith thanks him again. He holds his hands over Keith’s helping him thread the charm into his phone, before he does the same with his.

 

“They’re a perfect set.”

“They are.” Keith agrees.

 

They walk out of the aquarium hand in hand. The sun is setting as they exit, the day suddenly seeming too brief for Keith’s liking. He wishes it could’ve been longer. All of his time spent with Shiro seems to fly by, melting away too quick to be savored. But, he knows he’ll never forget this day.

 

“Shiro, thank you for today,” Keith said as he rubbed awkwardly at his neck, “I will admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but I’m so glad I got to spend today here with you. You showed me things I would’ve never seen otherwise. And I’m really grateful for this and for you.”

 

If Keith could frame Shiro’s face in that moment forever, he would.

 

His eyes glinted like a sea of diamonds in the setting sunlight, radiant and all-consuming. Keith felt the warmth of his hand spread through his fingertips as Shiro beamed, “I’m so grateful for you too, Keith and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend this day with anyone else.”

 

“Shiro, I—” His mouth snaps shut. It’s too early on he thinks, but his heart is about to burst. It’s filled with this overwhelming feeling, thick like raw honey, warm like the sun, constant like an undulating ocean caressing the shore.

 

“Keith?” Shiro says, his eyes wide with concern.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“It’s not nothing,” Shiro clasps his hand gently, “Something’s eating you up inside. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’ll be here to listen if you do.”

 

“The thing is… I want to tell you Shiro. I wanna tell you _so_ badly.”

 

“Were you just trying to make me feel better? You know you can be honest with me Keith.”

 

“What?”

 

“Was the date that bad?” His face drops, “Oh, no. I knew going on a date at work was a terrible idea.”

 

“Shiro, wait, slow down. I enjoyed the date.”

 

“Then, it’s me. Look, I know I’m an ugly eater—”

 

“Shiro,” Keith laughs, “I thought it your eating was endearing. Even though the poor burger never stood a chance. I loved today, and I loved you.”

 

_Wait._

 

“L— loved?” Shiro’s face is the reddest Keith has ever seen it. This was quite the mistake to make and Keith wanted nothing more to berate himself repeatedly until he was no more, but Shiro still held a little expectant look. If he was going to do this, then hell he was going to do it all the way.

 

Keith buries his face in his hands, “What I meant to say was,” He takes a deep breath in, “I love you.”

 

Shiro’s face crumples and Keith can feel his heart sink, “Keith—”

 

“I know it’s early on. I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to reciprocate my feelings I just—”

 

“I love you too.”

 

Now it was Keith’s turn to ask, “What?” His bag has been long forgotten on the ground from his shock.

 

Shiro laughs, “I love you too, Keith.” Shiro smooths away the furrow in Keith’s brow with his thumb, “I love you so much. You make everyday brighter. You make my life better just by being in it and I’m so thankful that I have you Keith. I mean it.”

 

Keith’s eyes are watery by the time his mouth decides to work, “I’m so glad Shiro,” He rubs at his eyes till they sting, “I love you, and I’m so happy, you make me so happy, Shiro.”

 

“You make me so happy, too Keith,” He envelops his arms around Keith’s shaking frame and pulls him tight into his chest, “You saved me, you know that?”

 

Keith buries his face into Shiro’s shoulder, “We saved each other.”

 

***

 

They walk back to Shiro’s car and Shiro offers to drive Keith back, “We can just put your motorcycle in the back if I put the seats down.”

 

After a joint effort of shoving Keith’s bike into the back, they strap into Shiro’s car and Shiro turns to Keith, “I also was lucky enough to have Allura allow you to come train with the other dolphin trainers and I on Monday.”

 

“How did I ever get you?”

 

“I ask myself the same thing every day,” He smiles before his hand rests on the dial, “No radio today. I just want to listen to you.”

 

“Now you’re just being a sap.”

 

“You love it.”

 

“I do.”

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you too, Shiro.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if everything is not entirely accurate, this fic was partially born from my experience as an intern at the Georgia Aquarium for three years, and I only really did tours and talked about this big coral diorama. I had a lot of fun writing this although I struggled a bit since it's the longest fic I've written to date. Moral of the story is that they love each other very much.
> 
> Also, fun facts cited here: [ mammal sheath (page 2)](https://www.jstor.org/stable/107012?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents)  
> [crabs](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4382437/)
> 
> If you liked the fic, please feel free to leave a comment, so I know you enjoyed it!


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